IN OUR HOMES
Shingles -
are you at risk? Up to 99.5% of adults 50 years and older carry the inactive virus that can cause shingles and up to one in three may develop shingles in their lifetime.
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hile most people recover fully from a bout of shingles, up to 25% may experience long-term complications. The International Federation on Ageing (IFA) in collaboration with GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) is raising awareness of shingles, including the risk of adults developing shingles, through the first-ever global Shingles Awareness Week which ended on March 6. Shingles Awareness Week highlighted the fact that if you are 50 years or older, the inactive virus that causes shingles is most likely already inside you. This means that you may be at risk of shingles, no matter how healthy you may feel. The goal of Shingles Awareness Week was to address misconceptions around shingles and to encourage individuals to speak to a healthcare professional about shingles.
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What is shingles? Shingles (herpes zoster) is an illness caused by the varicella zoster virus. It occurs in people who have previously had chickenpox, when the virus is reactivated in the nerve tissue. People with shingles can experience a painful blistering rash but the good news is that for most people, herpes zoster is a self-limiting disease and they make a full recovery. Post-herpetic neuralgia, a complication of shingles (which can occur in up to 25% of shingles cases) causes a persistent nerve pain that can last over three months.
Shingles occurs when the virus that’s already in your body reactivates so it cannot be passed from one person to another. However, since the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles are the same, if a person who has never had or isn’t protected against chickenpox, comes into direct contact with the blisters of someone with shingles, they may get chickenpox. The risk of shingles increases with age and is most common in those aged 50 and older, those who have a weakened immune system, and those who had chickenpox in the first year of life. For Roz (pictured), catching shingles reduced her freedom to live her life as she normally would. “Catching shingles forced me to take bed rest, and I only got up when I needed to visit my GP,” she said. “Shingles takes away your independence.” To find out more visit knowshingles.com.au
